Bennett Reflects on an Undefeated Season

Coach Aaron Bennett ’09 is the famed leader of the Western Reserve Academy D-squad boys soccer team, having lead them through an undefeated season of victory, glory, memes, and almost-a-day-off-but-we-still-appreciate-the-effort. “I’ve been coaching since I got here, so…two months?” Bennett stated. As a former WRA C-squad all-star who was demoted to D-squad his sophomore year, Bennett holds the team in a special place in his heart, right next to tweed jackets and Star Wars.

As an intern, Bennett is working in the communications and marketing department. Although he was originally supposed to coach volleyball, due to his low aptitude in the sport, he was unable to coach volleyball. Because around 100 boys tried out for soccer this year, Herb Haller ’85 decided to add Bennett to his soccer staff instead, placing him in charge of our legendary D-squad team.

When asked about what the players took out of the season, Bennett responded, “I’d say the boys gained camaraderie, teamwork, things like that. It is pretty incredible to me to see how the school has championed the D-squad team. It’s kind of the running joke that everyone is in on, and I feel bad for other teams who don’t get the kind of support we do,” he stated. “It’s pretty ironic, but so many people come out to watch the games. Kids even storm the field, sometimes before the game is even finished!” D-squad brings the community together, and we love them for it.

Of the two games played this season, both were against Cleveland Montessori. Bennett explained, “The second game was a rematch, and we won 4-1. I was worried because we had never practiced on a full field the entire season, and I didn’t think we’d be ready for it, honestly. However, all the support we got really motivated the boys. They had a good time.”

As for future expectations for our shining D-Squad, the pride and joy of our school, Bennett remarked: “The season literally ended yesterday, but I hope we can continue our undefeated streak of two games. I hope the response of next year is just as great. Sometimes the little guys are the ones who we need the most, you know?”

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